Asian Rap Worldwide Presents: The LS Mixtape

The LS Mixtape front


The LS Mixtape back


I'm very proud to announce that Asian Rap Worldwide has just released its very first mixtape called The LS Mixtape!! The LS mixtape features 12 songs from LS, a Chinese-American rapper from New York that rapped about his life experiences in the streets of New York's Chinatown. He was coming up in the rap game around the same time when Asian-American rappers such as Jin, Chan and Shogunna were also coming up. That was in the early millenium which marked the beginning stages of an Asian-American hip hop movement, which LS was a part of. If you haven't heard any new songs from LS lately, that is because LS is not rapping anymore (or at least is putting his rapping on hold for a while). LS explains it all in this the email he sent to me:

Wuts good Royal? Sorry bout the delay, after i got out the hospital n all i had to catch up on mad shit but i didn't forget about you... i appreciate the luv fam... i juss wanna let you kno that, i haven't been in the game for a minute now... it seems my time has come and gone... it's funny because when i was younger i had dreams of making it big but i never thought it could ever happen... then when it really did start happening n things started to take off it kinda took me by surprise because it was happening so fast and i didn't really kno what to do with it, all the visions i was having was coming tru but i wasn't really taking it that seriously when i should of been... but thats how life is sumtimes... whether i decide to pursue music again or not i could say say that i've definitely made my mark... even with the limited amount of songs that i put out there, i'm still arguably one of the best asian american artist that did it... it was definitely fun while it lasted and who knows, maybe i'll pick up the mic again n show these niggas wuts up lol... HOLLA AT THE KID!

-LS

Well... you heard it straight from LS. Now about the mixtape. The LS Mixtape is a mix of some originals, some covers over instrumental beats and some collaborations with other Asian rappers. I have already covered quite a few of LS's songs already that will be on the mixtape (search: LS). Another song that you should definitely give a listen to is Life Or Death featuring Ailee. That song is pretty deep and you can tell that LS wrote that song based on his own life struggles.

DOWNLOAD: Asian Rap Worldwide Presents -The LS Mixtape

Track listing:

01 I'm Back
02 Mr. Right Mr. Wrong feat Jin
03 Checkmate feat Jay Chou
04 Long Road Ahead
05 Notorious (Chinatown)
06 Still A Chink feat Jin, Shogunna, Chan, Rookadamus & Young Mac
07 4th Chamber feat Jin & Chan
08 Protect Ya Neck Remix feat Jin, Young Mac, Thai Streets, SouthStar, Chan & FM
09 Life I Chose
10 Life or Death feat Ailee
11 Last Laugh feat Jay Uno
12 Changes

LS - Life I Chose

LS
Life I Chose is a rap song by LS. In this song LS tells his story about living the "street life". The instrumental of Life I Chose sounds like it was meant for a celebration-type song but the lyrics reflect on LS's hardship and pain. I don't know if this was an intended juxtaposition.

LS - Notorious (Chinatown)

LS

Notorious (Chinatown) is an Asian gangster rap song by LS. The song is about the grimey things that happen in New York's Chinatown.

LS - Still a Chink Remix feat. Jin, Shogunna, Snacky Chan, Rookadamus and Young Mac

LS

LS aka "Lyrical Specialist" is Chinese rapper from Chinatown, New York. He gained a lot of exposure when Blender Magazine wrote an article about him called Big Trouble in Little China in April of 2004. The article goes in detail about a shooting incident where he heroically stood up for Jin when someone tried to "punk" Jin inside New York bar. LS ended up being shot in the back with a .40 caliber. Fortunately LS survived the shooting.

The song Still a Chink a socially conscious rap song that deals with the issue of racism and prejudice against Asian-Americans. Although the term "chink" is a derogatory name to discriminate the Chinese, this term has been used to insult Asians or anyone who looks Asian. In this remixed version of Still a Chink, this song is featuring Asian rap superstars: Jin, Shogunna, Snacky Chan, Rookadamus and Young Mac. Jin and and LS are the only Chinese rappers in this song, however the other Asian rappers (who are Korean and Vietnamese) featured in this song face the same stereotypes and are fighting in the same battle.





LS is working on a new mixtape. No word on when it will be officially released or what it is called. You can find LS's myspace at www.myspace.com/lsny1

Snacky Chan, LS and Jin - 4th Chamber

Left to right: Snacky Chan, Jin, and LS

The 4th Chamber is originally a rap song by the Wu-Tang Clan from the Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) released in 1993. The "Asian version" of the 4th Chamber was recorded shortly after Jin's record deal with Ruff Ryder's Entertainment to help promote talent from the Asian hip hop community. This song is available on Jin's The Definition of History Mixtape (2004) and also Snacky Chan's Killa Tape Mixtape (2005).

Be sure to check out Snacky Chan's verse when he says "Your image is false yo, its been a lie/ You 'bout as real as Tom Cruise playin the part of Samurai/You a funny guy, schemin on my money right?/ I'll have your body in the desert where the mummies lie, bitch/" . That's some real serious Asian hip hop right there.